Egan-Jones downgrades Germany to A+

US rating agency Egan-Jones Ratings downgraded Germany by one notch to A+, and issued a negative watch for the country’s sovereign debt.

“Germany will be left with massive, additional, uncollectible receivables,” Egan-Jones said, and the view is not conditioned by a Greek exit from the 17-members eurozone.

According to the agency, the country has a €700bn debt exposure, only half of which is collectable.

Germany’s chances of default over the next year are 1.7%, Egan-Jones added.

Both Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings rate Germany at AAA, while Moody’s rates the economy at Aaa, all with stable outlooks.

“Although not one of the big names, their independent status and proactive analysis appears to put them ahead of the curve for ratings changes. Expectations ahead of tomorrow EU summit were somewhat dampened yesterday following comments from German chancellor Merkel that Europe will not have a shared liability of debt “as long as she lives,” said Peter O’Flanagan, head of foreign exchange trading at Clear Currency, following the downgrade.